As amended December 9, 2024

 

Section 1. Admission to full or associate membership hereafter shall be by application to the Executive Committee. This application shall be in writing and shall describe (1) the reason for wishing to join CACRAO, (2) the role of the institution or organization in post‐secondary education and (3) an application fee as set annually by the Executive Committee and published on the CACRAO website. If the Executive Committee approves the application, membership benefits shall begin upon payment of the annual membership fee.

Section 2. Individuals recommended for Honorary Membership by the Recognition Committee must meet the following criteria and procedures.

A. Criteria‐‐A person nominated for honorary membership should meet all of the following conditions:

1. Has been an active member of the association for at least 10 years.

2. Has made substantial contributions to the association and its members through service as either an officer, committee member, or participant in the profession.

3. At the time of the election the nominee has retired or left the profession or officially announced his/her intent to do so.

B. Procedure‐‐Thoroughness in the consideration of potential honorary members requires a canvassing of the entire membership.

1. The Newsletters should include the criteria for honorary membership along with a request for suggestions for nominees. Nominations should be sent to the Recognition Committee with full justification for the recommendation.

2. All suggestions should be screened by the committee for conformity with the criteria, and if necessary additional information obtained on each recommendation.

3. The committee should make its final recommendations for honorary membership to the Executive Committee prior to August 1.

4. Certificates of honorary membership shall be prepared by the Recognition Committee for presentation by the President at the annual meeting.

 

Section 1. Membership is institutional or organizational. An annual membership fee, as set annually by the Executive Committee and published on the website, shall be paid by all charter, full, and associate members of the Association. There shall be no fee for honorary members. A fee payment schedule for membership fees and program participation costs will also be posted on the website.

Section 2. Organizations that fail to pay their annual membership fee are considered inactive until such time as they pay their dues. Until their dues are paid for the current year and the most recent past year, they will be charged the non-member rate to participate in any CACRAO sponsored events, to include annual meeting, ED‐Op programs, School Counselor workshops, and participation on committees and awards. Institutions inactive for a period of two or more years must re‐submit the membership application.

 

The Association shall hold an annual meeting. The location and date of the annual meeting will be determined by the Executive Committee. A recommendation shall be made by the Long Range Planning Committee, whose chair will be the immediate past president.

 

Section 1. Voting privileges are extended to each person from any institution granted full membership who is charged with responsibility in the field of admission, registration, and records recorded on the membership roster. The institution must hold charter or full membership, with dues paid for the current year.

Section 2. Voting to select the members of the Nominating Committee, or a special election as needed, shall be conducted, at a distance, among the eligible membership. Those returning ballots by the selected deadline shall constitute a quorum.

Section 3. All other membership-wide business shall be conducted at the annual business meeting of the Association. For the annual business meeting, individuals must be registered for the annual meeting and in attendance at the business session in order to vote.

Section 4. The members present shall constitute a quorum for any business session conducted in conjunction with the annual meeting or any other meeting announced to the entire membership thirty (30) days in advance. No membership-wide business meeting of CACRAO may be called with less than thirty (30) days notice.

Section 5. The treasurer of the Association has the responsibility of verifying voter eligibility.

 

Section 1. Association officers shall be elected at the business session held during the annual meeting. The Nominating Committee shall announce its slate of officers in advance of the annual meeting.

Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall meet well prior to the annual meeting to develop a slate of nominees for the subsequent year's Nominating Committee to be distributed to the membership prior to the annual meeting.

Section 3. The Nominating Committee shall propose a slate of officers to be presented to the membership prior to the annual meeting consisting of a president‐elect, secretary, treasurer, vice president for admissions for NC, vice president for admissions for SC and vice president for registrars (all in appropriate years).

Section 4. The Nominating Committee will make every reasonable effort to reflect among the selected candidates a variety of professional, geographical, and institutional diversity and be inclusive of traditionally underrepresented members.

Section 5. Prior to the Annual Meeting a ballot shall be distributed to each voting member containing the names of nominees for the subsequent year's Nominating Committee, with instructions for voting. Those ballots returned as directed following the distribution shall be counted as valid ballots. The Committee shall make every reasonable effort to ensure the authentication and confidentiality of all ballots that are returned. In the case of tie votes, the Committee shall make the choice between tied candidates.

 

Section 1. The president shall succeed to office immediately after having served as president‐elect. This officer shall preside at all meetings of the organization, except when this duty is delegated. This officer shall serve as chair of the Executive Committee. The president shall be responsible for all activities with the Association and may assign or delegate duties accordingly.

Section 2. The immediate past president shall succeed to office immediately after having served as president. The immediate past president shall be Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee.

Section 3. The president‐elect shall be responsible for the annual meeting. This officer shall perform the duties of president in the absence of that officer. The president‐elect shall appoint a chair of the Program Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee. The president-elect will serve as an ex-officio on the Program Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee.

Section 4. The two vice presidents for Admissions, one from North Carolina and one from South Carolina shall be responsible for activities associated with admissions. They shall serve as liaisons between the Executive Committee and the members of the Association with admissions responsibilities. These officers will represent admissions concerns and preside at meetings of members with admissions responsibilities in their respective state. They shall be responsible for implementing the summer Admissions newcomers workshop, shall assist with the program for the annual meeting, and are ex‐officio members of the Educational Consultants Committee and the Educational Opportunities and School Counselor Conferences Committees for their state.

Section 5. The two vice presidents for Registrars shall be responsible for activities associated with registrars. They shall serve as liaisons between the Executive Committee and the members of the Association with registrar's responsibilities. These officers shall represent registrars concerns and preside at meetings of members with registrar's responsibilities. They shall be responsible for implementing the Registrar's Summits, serve on the Program Committee and shall be Chair of the Registrar's Committee.

Section 6. The secretary shall be custodian of all Association records. They shall ensure that minutes of annual meetings and meetings of the Executive Committee are kept; shall report the activities of the annual meetings and make such other reports as deemed proper and necessary for the needs of the Association.

Section 7. The treasurer shall be responsible for all the financial affairs of the Association, shall oversee the collection of membership fees and ensure the maintenance of the membership roster, and shall verify voter eligibility. This officer shall make a report of the financial status of the Association at the annual meeting.

 

Section 1. The Program Committee for the annual meeting shall include the president‐elect (chair), the two vice presidents for admissions, the two vice presidents for registrars, the chairperson of the Professional Access and Equity Committee and others as appointed by the chairperson of the committee. The committee shall be responsible for the planning and implementation of the program for the annual meeting.

Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the chair, the two vice presidents for admissions and the two vice presidents for registrars who are in their first year of elected service in their respective vice president role, and five other members elected by the membership. The Nominating Committee for the subsequent year shall be elected from a pool of no less than ten candidates proposed by the membership and/or selected by the current Nominating Committee. The candidate receiving the most votes, will be named the Chair-Elect of the Nominating Committee and must be willing to serve on the committee for a two-year term. By accepting a position on the Nominating Committee, the CACRAO member is willingly removing themselves from consideration for a leadership position for the year in which the member would serve to nominate individuals for leadership positions in the Association.

Section 3. The Recognition Committee shall present such resolutions as may be appropriate for the members' consideration at the annual meeting. They shall also inform the association of members who have died since the previous annual meeting.

Section 4. The Budget Committee shall be responsible for the development of the annual budget to be presented to the membership at the annual meeting. The President shall serve as chair of the committee that will include the officers of the organization.

Section 5. The Audit Committee shall receive and review the annual report supplied by an independent auditing firm and present any findings to the membership at the annual meeting. The Treasurer will serve on this committee as an ex-officio member and no other Executive Committee members may be included in this committee's deliberations.

Section 6. The North and South Carolina Educational Opportunity Programs Committees shall be responsible for developing and conducting the recruiting activities of their respective states.

Section 7. The Ethics Committee shall be responsible for the promotion of CACRAO Principles of Good Practice and make recommendations consistent with the changes in the environment in which we work.

Section 8. The Constitution and By‐laws Committee shall consider changes to the Association's Constitution and By-Laws and make recommendations to the membership at the annual meeting.

Section 9. The Professional Access and Equity Committee shall be responsible for the identification of problems or needs in the field of higher education which impact upon members of the group from traditionally underrepresented groups and make recommendations to the membership to correct them.

Section 10. The Registrars Committee shall be responsible for the development of in‐service training and consultation for the membership. The two vice presidents for Registrars shall serve as Chair of this committee.

Section 11. The Marketing and Communications Committee shall be responsible for sharing information through the publication of a newsletter at least three times annually, social media and other relevant forms of communication to inform membership of activities of the organization and other matters of interest to Admissions Offices, Registrars, and their staffs.

Section 12. The Executive Committee, consisting of the elected officers of the Association and two appointees for each state, being inclusive of traditionally underrepresented members, shall have authority over the affairs of the organization between its annual meetings. One of the two appointed members from each state is charged with planning the annual Student Services Seminars conducted in each state.

Section 13. The Long‐Range Planning Committee shall be responsible for on‐going organizational self‐study and making annual meeting site selection recommendations. The committee shall be responsible to evaluate the annual meeting and make recommendations concerning the annual meeting and other Association activities. Its members shall make sure the membership addresses self‐study recommendations and that the effectiveness of implemented changes is assessed.

Section 14. The Local Arrangements Committee shall act as host for the annual meeting. The number of members will be determined, and the individuals selected by the Chair. Each will serve until all business associated with the annual meeting is finished.

Section 15. The North Carolina School Counselor Conference Committee shall be responsible for conducting the Annual School Conferences held at several locations each fall.

Section 16. The South Carolina School Counselor Conference Committee shall be responsible for conducting the Annual Counselor Conferences held at several locations each fall.

Section 17. The Mentoring Committee shall be responsible for identifying and matching new members of the association with members who have been in the field for at least five years, to develop strong mentoring relationships for professional development.

Section 18. The Legislative Concerns Committee shall monitor, assess, and inform the executive committee and CACRAO membership of relevant issues of North Carolina, South Carolina, and federal legislation. There shall be a minimum of five members.

 

The Executive Committee shall employ an independent, professional auditing firm to review the Association's financial records annually.

 

Section 1. The By‐laws may be amended by a simple majority of those present and voting at the annual meeting. The By-Laws approved at the annual meeting in December will then take effect, following the annual meeting.

Section 2. All amendments to the By‐laws must be submitted to the Constitution and By‐laws Committee for its review. All proposed amendments will be submitted to the membership at the next business meeting with a "do pass" or "do not pass" recommendation.

 

The fiscal year and membership for accounting and federal reporting will be January 1 through December 31.